The Texan's Forbidden Fiancée

by Sara Orwig

  “A woman got it started. She planned to marry a Calhoun and ran off with a Milan,” Mike reminded them.

  “You know Madison doesn’t trust you,” Josh remarked.

  “I don’t really care,” Jake replied. “If there is a deed and that deed will stand up in a court of law, then part of the Milan ranch is ours. Maybe the best part of the Milan ranch.” All were silent a moment and Jake figured the others were thinking about the prospect of owning part of the Milan ranch just as he was.

  “What a deal,” Josh stated, his brown eyes on Jake. “This may get the old feud fired up again.”

  “I hope we’re all more civilized today than to go shooting at each other,” Jake said. “We may start searching tomorrow. I’m going to her house tonight to look at aerial photos of her ranch and hear her theories on where to look. I sent her a copy of the map last night.”

  They speculated on where the digging would take place, as they had all studied the map and the aerial photos of the Milan ranch.

  “All we can do is wait and see,” Mike said. “Call one of us each night and give us a report and we’ll call the other two.”

  Jake agreed.

  “That old legend,” Lindsay remarked. “It would be funny if it turned out to be true.”

  “It sounds likely to me,” Mike added, glancing at the others.

  “I go back and forth about it,” Jake said. “I first heard it from Grandad. He said a Calhoun had a box of gold and he was trying to get away from robbers—”

  “It might have been just the reverse,” Mike said. “The Calhoun ancestor may have been the robber trying to escape a posse.

  “They’ve also said the shoot-out was over a Calhoun’s fiancée who ran off with a Milan and they had the shoot-out over her,” Mike stated.

  “That’s what Grandad always said. He said the Calhoun got her back because he killed the Milan,” Jake said. “The deed was won by a Calhoun from a Milan and was supposed to say clearly that the land belonged to the Calhouns, and the deed was with a box of gold coins.”

  “The ranch boundaries we have now weren’t clear back in the time that shoot-out happened, but that started the feud,” Mike said. “Myth or truth? Maybe we’ll finally find out with our generation.

  “I’d like to come with you,” Mike added, “but I think it would cause trouble with Madison Milan to have two Calhouns.”

  “No,” Jake replied. “She won’t want the Calhoun brothers going along, or our sister.”

  “Frankly, I don’t want to go,” Lindsay said.

  Josh stood up. “I’ve got to go. I leave for L.A. in a few hours. Good luck, bro,” he said, looking intently at Jake. “Sorry, but I don’t think you’ll find anything. If a treasure is on that ranch, it’s a needle in a haystack.”

  “I’ll text all of you each night.”

  “Good,” Mike said, standing with the others. “Good luck to you.”

  Jake gave him a thumbs-up. He watched as his siblings left and then he sat, turning his chair to look out over Dallas while he thought about the old legend and the Milan ranch. Was it really true or was this a wild-good chase? If there was a buried treasure, was there any hope of them finding it? Actually, it might be buried on Calhoun land because to all his family’s calculations it was close to their boundary. Through the years there had been plenty of searching on the Calhoun side, but to no avail.

  He thought again of Madison, remembering her perfume, the way the blue dress had clung to a figure that still took his breath away. She was a beautiful woman, poised and confident now. He hadn’t slept well last night with her filling his dreams. Memories of making love to her had plagued him, waking him, leaving him hot, sweaty and wanting her, something he didn’t want to feel. They had been kids when they had thought they were in love.

  What had been a significant difference at nineteen and sixteen no longer mattered at thirty-two and twenty-nine. When he looked back on it now, he had to admit that they had been too young to marry, but at the time it hadn’t seemed that way.

  Because of Pete Milan’s heavy-handed manner, Jake had never thought about the man being right until the past few years. All he could remember was her father warning him to get out of Madison’s life and disclosing that she had already accepted his offer to open art galleries for her and get her showings in the best exhibitions in the Southwest and along the West Coast—if she would call off the wedding. Her father’s promise had probably saved her several years of struggles and had made her a legitimate working artist. Evidently that was what she’d wanted the most. More than him. Jake had known instinctively that his own dad would have agreed with Pete Milan and said they were too young to marry; his mother never liked any of the Milans anyway.

  He thought again of Madison, remembering holding her soft hand last night when they had the handshake on their agreement. Could he work with her and keep his hands to himself and resist flirting with her? Did he really want to resist? Was she still off-limits to his heart? Wisdom answered yes. She obviously didn’t feel kindly toward him or want to recall the past. What would it be like to be with her every day for the next week or two?

  * * *

  Madison bent over the map and aerial photo spread before her as she made notes. For several hours she’d tried to focus her thoughts, but too often she realized she was staring into space, lost in thought about Jake and their time together last night. She had been shocked at how handsome he looked—far more than when he had been nineteen years old. Worse, he was even more appealing to her as a man than he had been as a teenager.

  She had never known if her parents had any inkling of the depth of her feelings for Jake Calhoun. It didn’t matter now.

  One time their foreman, Charley, had come around the garages and seen her in her car at midnight. He had asked if her parents knew she was out and he had told her to go back inside. She had gone back, climbing in through her open bedroom window and sitting there, watching in the dark until she saw Charley disappear into the bunkhouse. She had climbed out again and taken a truck, driving across the ranch in the moonlight to meet Jake. That had been one of the last times they had been together before the night they had planned to run away and get married.

  For days she had wondered if Charley had ratted her out to her dad, but when nothing happened, she decided he had not. Charley had always kept an eye on them for her dad, especially the boys, and she never liked Charley because of it, although now that she was grown, she understood why he had. She’d never even told Jake about the incident because it hadn’t seemed that important.

  How in love she had been with Jake! She had thought he was the most wonderful person she had ever known. She remembered his dark brown eyes last night and her racing pulse when she had caught him looking at her lips while desire blazed in his eyes. What was it going to be like to work with him every day for the rest of the week? Could she hold up her end of this expedition?

  She thought about crossing the porch with him last night when they had come home after dinner. If he had taken her into his arms to kiss her, would she have stopped him? Breathless, she thought about Jake’s kisses. Would she have been able to stop him?

  Tonight he would be in her house to look at her photos and maps. Could she eat with him tonight, work with him and still resist him?

  This morning she had called the man in Chicago who had validated the map. He had searched his records, finally calling her back and telling her the map was authentic. The thought of seeing the actual map that was a tie to her past was exciting.

  She had sent a text to all her brothers about the search. Tony had called immediately after he received the text, which was typical because he could be impulsive. Nick’s call had come later in the afternoon after he had thought things over. Wyatt had needed the most time to think it all over, as he tended to view everything more objectively than any other family member.<
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  Tony had started arguing instantly. “I don’t think you should go. I should. You can’t trust Jake Calhoun, or any Calhoun about anything. You should know that. I’ll call him.”

  “No, you won’t,” she’d said patiently. “Just wait. I’m taking two men with me and we’ll watch all the time to see what is going on.”

  “Don’t do it. The Calhouns are up to something.”

  She had argued with Tony for half an hour before she finally got him to promise to stay out of it until she asked for his help.

  Wyatt and Nick had been easier, but the message had been the same—they didn’t trust a Calhoun. She had promised them both she would be careful and she’d keep all her brothers informed of what was happening. She had promptly put them and their warnings out of her mind. She could take care of herself and her ranch.

  She looked down at the map again, even though she had it memorized by now.

  Would the map really help them? She thought of all the warnings and pushed aside her worries. Men who had worked for them for years would be with her, so there was nothing to worry about.

  Except maybe falling in love with Jake Calhoun all over again.

  The thought came unbidden. No, she assured herself, she would not fall in love with him again. Still, a nagging doubt tormented her. Jake still set her pulse racing and the slightest contact with him was electrifying. For the next few days she would be with him from sunrise to sundown.

  Why hadn’t he married? Was he wondering the same about her? Regardless, she intended to guard her heart. She suspected he wouldn’t want to fall in love again any more than she did.

  She forced herself to get back to her notes. Promptly at six, when she had told him to appear, the doorbell rang. She opened the door and looked into Jake’s dark brown eyes before his gaze drifted slowly to her toes and back up again, taking in her jeans and plaid shirt, and making her tingle all over.

  “You look gorgeous,” he said in a husky voice.

  She was thinking the same about him. He wore a navy Western shirt, boots and tight jeans. He had a wide-brimmed tan Stetson on his head, creased in the familiar local style. He held a brown leather briefcase.

  “Thank you. Come in,” she said, stepping back. “Let’s get something to drink and then go look at the map and pictures I have. I have a casserole in the oven and we can eat whenever we want.”

  “Show me the way,” he said. “I wonder how long it will take me to get accustomed to entering this house and not feeling as if I’m committing a crime.”

  She smiled. “You shouldn’t feel that way now.”

  “This was the forbidden palace. Any of your family around tonight?”

  “No. They’re in Dallas. They’re rarely out here except at Christmas when we all get together. Even our Christmas celebration has been in Dallas the last few years. I’m sure you see my brothers some because they’re around. Nick has a home in Dallas, Wyatt has a home here in Verity and Tony lives on his ranch. We all have our own ranches now, but only Tony lives on his year-round.”

  “Sure, the illustrious sheriff of Verity, Wyatt Milan. I see Tony sometimes in Verity or at rodeos. Your brother Nick is probably too busy trying to become president someday.”

  She laughed. “He would like to be, but right now, he’s too busy being a state representative.”

  They stopped in the kitchen to get drinks. As he helped, she caught him watching her. His gaze made her heart beat faster and she wondered again how she would get through the next few days, or weeks, working with him.

  “Let’s go to the library,” she said and when he walked beside her, she was aware of him, close, almost touching her.

  “Madison, I’m sorry about your sister-in-law.”

  Madison nodded. “Thanks. That car wreck was a tragedy. In public Nick does fine, but he’s had a hard time dealing with the loss. He was so excited because she was expecting.”

  “That must have been rough.”

  “You’ve had your own losses. I’m sorry about Mike losing his wife to cancer. At least he has his son.”

  “That helps, and keeps him busy. It’s been hard for him trying to be both mom and dad for Scotty.”

  “That’s tough and so sad.”

  “Mike’s happy with his nanny and Mom comes to stay sometimes for a month at a time, so that’s helped him. The baby is a cute little fella and that cheers him up. He tries to stay upbeat because of Scotty.”

  “Do your brothers know what you’re doing?”

  “Oh, yeah. I don’t think they really expect much to come from it. This isn’t the first search for that fabled buried treasure.”

  “I know. It’ll probably be another wild-goose chase, but the map is fascinating. I’m anxious to see the actual map. It gives a little more validity to the legend, but finding something buried anywhere on this ranch is kind of mind-boggling.”

  Carrying her tea while he carried a beer, she led the way to the library, a large room filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books and pictures.

  She stopped at a long table filled with maps and photos. “Those are aerial photos, but over here are satellite pictures,” she said, waving her hand and moving to a computer and an iPad toward one end of the table. “You can see these photos better and move around or expand them. Look at whatever you want.”

  “This is impressive,” he said as he bent over one of the aerial pictures. “I haven’t seen this one.”

  “No, it’s not out there for the public. That’s one of our pictures. Look at the map and then look at the aerial photo and the satellite maps of the ranch. Maybe you can find some landmarks in them that are similar.” She glanced up and saw him staring at the open neckline of her shirt. Self-conscious, she wanted to reach up and button one more button, but she didn’t want to draw that much attention to herself. His eyes met hers and she was ensnared in his dark gaze, desire filling her as she stared at him. Realizing what was happening, she looked away. To cover the flush that heated her cheeks she pointed to the aerial photo.

  “Look at this, Jake.”

  He shifted his attention to the papers on the table and while he studied them, she looked at his profile. He was clean-shaven, his thick black hair combed neatly. Jake’s lashes had a slight curl over seductive dark eyes that could hide his feelings easily. The past few moments had shaken her. Desire had overwhelmed her, and he had felt it, too. She hoped that didn’t happen again during the coming week. She had to go with him. No way would she trust him even if she had her men go with him.

  As she studied him, she knew the week or weeks ahead would be a strain. It would help if he hadn’t gotten more appealing through the years. He was breathtakingly handsome. Did other women see him that way, or was it just an effect he had on her?

  Jake sat in front of the wide-screen computer to look at a satellite map.

  She stepped closer to sit near him so she could look with him. As she did, their shoulders brushed lightly, the slightest touch, but she was acutely aware of the contact. She forced her mind back to the screen.

  “These maps should help in our search,” he told her. “I’ve studied the old map off and on through the years. In my judgment, it looks as if the location is along the banks of Rocky Creek.” He picked up his briefcase to set it on his knees to open it. “I brought the original. I got it out of the vault.”

  “That’s exciting, Jake,” she said in anticipation.

  He removed a box with a glass front. Inside was the yellowed, torn and wrinkled map. He opened the box and lifted it slowly, gently, his well-shaped hands holding it gingerly.

  “Maybe you should leave it in there and we’ll just look through the glass,” she said, though she wanted desperately to hold it herself.

  “No. We can see it better this way.”

  “Jake, can I touch it? It’s a connect
ion to my first Texas ancestors.”

  “Hold out your hands,” he ordered. When she did, he carefully placed it into her open hands, his warm fingers brushing hers. The contact of their hands made her forget the map for a few seconds as she looked up at Jake. He sat so close, and as she looked into his dark eyes she felt a flash of longing.

  “Thank you,” she said, the words coming out in a whisper. She remembered the fragile map and looked at it, drawing a deep breath. “Jake, this feels like a tangible tie with the past.”

  “I hope it’s a damn tangible tie to a real buried treasure.”

  She examined the map, thinking about the ancestor who had carried it. “This is fantastic. It makes me wonder about those early-day Milans. If there is a treasure, was it ill-gotten gains, or gold that had been acquired legitimately?”

  “We’ll never know the answer to that one.”

  “Here. You can have it back.”

  “Just place it close here where I can compare it with the satellite map that shows everything the most clearly.” Jake studied the computer and she looked at a picture that showed her ranch, all the trees, bushes, the house and other buildings and roads. He adjusted the map on the computer and pointed to a place with his finger. “I want to compare this stretch along Rocky Creek. There are some trees on the map, but trees die or are cut down. New trees crop up beside them. I don’t think we can go by the trees on the map.”

  “Probably not,” she said, placing the antique map gingerly near the computer. He moved so close his arm brushed hers. He reached into his briefcase to retrieve a flashlight. “Can you hold this?”

  She took the flashlight and he turned back to shift the map, moving it slowly and carefully. The additional light showed the map more clearly.

  “Now look—these circles—it’s printed here, I think, ‘rocs.’ Look at this aerial picture along the creek bank.”

  “There are rocks, but there are about a dozen more places along the banks where there are rocks on both sides.”

  “Yes, but look. The creek curves here in the picture,” he said, pointing. “The creek curves here on the map. It looks like the same place,” he said, leaning closer to the table.